Third-year student Benoit Cathala will be leading an expedition to Nepal this June to investigate the impact of Western medicine on Himalayan Sherpas. Benoit has won funding from Imperial College and the Royal Society for the expedition. Three students from Imperial College will also be taking part.
Basing themselves in the Khumbu region, the students will be looking at ways to integrate different kinds of healthcare within the Sherpa population. "Shamans do refer people to hospitals, but they are reluctant to get involved, and they feel that in the past doctors looked down on their practices. And in fact, some practices have caused concern among expatriate health workers and educated Sherpas," says Benoit. Nepal has one of the highest infant mortality rates in Asia, and life expectancy rates, at 55, are also among the lowest. Benoit feels that his study might help to improve Nepal's health and medical problems by pinpointing ways in which both sides of the healthcare divide can complement each other.
The students will be away for over three months, focusing mainly on TB treatment and on post-natal care. They will live amongst the Sherpas, using an interpreter to help them communicate. They hope to get an insider's view of the Sherpa way of life, and to use this to see how medicine really works in the region.
